The Genius of Al-Siddiq Al-Aqqad

Abbas Mahmoud al-Aqqad (1889-1964) was an Egyptian man of letters, thinker, journalist and poet. He was born in Aswan, in southern Egypt, to an Egyptian father and a mother of Kurdish origin. Al-Aqqad was renowned for his literary and intellectual writings and contributed greatly to literary and political life

In this book, Abbas Mahmoud al-Aqqad writes about the first Caliph, Abu Bakr al-Siddiq, responding with a scholarly approach and without emotional rhetoric to the accusations some historians have made against al-Siddiq, especially regarding his succession as head of the Islamic state. The author also discusses the key to al-Siddiq's personality, relating that it was his admiration for heroism that led al-Siddiq to be the first to believe in the message of the Prophet Muhammad and to embrace Islam, whereas the second Caliph, Umar ibn al-Khattab, had doubts about the message but embraced Islam after his own personal investigation and thorough study of the religion. “The Genius of al-Siddiq” is part of the Islamic Geniuses (Abqariyyat) series